FALCONS' HOME WINNING STREAK ENDS IN LOSS TO BRUINS

Springfield, Mass. - The Springfield Falcons (34-17-5-4) lost for the first time in six home games on Saturday night at the MassMutual Center, battling back to tie their contest against the Providence Bruins (37-19-0-5) in the third period before eventually falling, 5-2.

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A crowd of 5,689 fans saw the contest, as Springfield dropped the back end of a home-and-home with Providence after earning a point on Friday in a 2-1 shootout loss to the Bruins.

The Falcons opened the scoring for the first time in five games just after the halfway point of the initial stanza. Dalton Smith picked the puck up at center ice off a Bruins turnover, skated into Providence's end, and threw a shot at goaltender Niklas Svedberg. Nathan Moon snapped the rebound from the bottom of the right circle by Svedberg's glove while falling down at 10:04, putting Springfield up, 1-0.

The Bruins tied the game up in the latter stages of the first, as Justin Florek stepped in front of a Colby Cohen right-point shot and redirected the puck past Falcons netminder Paul Dainton, making it 1-1 at 17:45.

Following a scoreless second, Springfield and Providence entered the third period deadlocked. The Bruins pulled away from the Falcons, though, with four goals in the final frame.

With Providence working on its first power play, Ryan Spooner took a cross-ice feed from Torey Krug, held in the bottom of the right circle, and banked a puck with a wrist shot off of Dainton and in at 2:02, giving the Bruins their first lead, 2-1.

Springfield knotted the contest back up at 9:04, as Nick Drazenovic's quick shot off a Ryan Russell set up in the right circle snuck through Svedberg, sending the game past the midpoint of the third all square, 2-2.

The Bruins responded moments later to grab the advantage for good. Spooner flicked a dribbling puck toward Dainton, and Kyle MacKinnon charged the crease and knocked it in at 13:12, giving Providence a 3-2 edge.

The Bruins doubled their cushion to 4-2 at 16:36, as Maxime Sauve buried the follow-up bid on the doorstep off a Craig Cunningham shot.

With Dainton pulled late, MacKinnon sealed the contest with an empty netter, as Providence won, 5-2.

Dainton (3-5-1) allowed four goals on 34 shots and was on the bench for Providence's final tally. Svedberg (30-7-2) beat Springfield for the second-straight night, setting aside 27 of 29 attempts.

The Falcons' lead in the Northeast Division decreased to 11 points over Connecticut with two games in hand heading into a Sunday contest against the Whale at the XL Center.

Springfield returns home on Wednesday to host Manchester before welcoming Worcester to the MassMutual Center on Friday. Both games begin at 7 p.m.

Single-game tickets to see the Falcons in 2012-2013 can be purchased at the MassMutual Center Box Office from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday through Friday, 10 a.m. through game time on Saturday home dates, and starting four hours prior to Sunday home contests. Fans can also purchase tickets by logging onto Ticketmaster.com. For information about discounted group packages to Falcons home games, call (413) 739-GOAL (4625).

Notes:

Drazenovic set a career high on his goal, reaching 47 points (17g-30a). His goal was his 100th as a pro, all in the AHL...Springfield's last loss at home was one month ago, Feb. 16, against Portland in a 3-1 defeat. After that game, the Falcons won five-straight contests at the MassMutual Center to tie their longest home winning streak of the season...The Falcons lost in regulation to the Bruins for the first time since Dec. 14. Springfield had been 3-0-0-1 against Providence since that point...The four goals allowed by Springfield in the third were the most by an opponent since Portland scored five times in the second period on Nov. 23